SEC Cuts Cases to 583 in 2024, but Achieves Record Financial Results
Date: 2024-11-26 Author: Gabriel Deangelo Categories: IN WORLD
The total amount of financial penalties imposed in these cases includes $6.1 billion in the form of disgorgement of illegally obtained profits and biased gains, as well as $2.1 billion in civil penalties. The SEC emphasized that part of these funds was used to compensate affected investors - they were returned $345 million. Another $255 million went to individuals who helped expose the fraudulent schemes.
As indicated in the regulator's statement, more than half of the total amount of penalties ($8.2 billion) falls on the decision in the case against Terraform Labs and its head Do Kwon. The SEC has charged the company with organizing one of the largest securities frauds in U.S. history.
Fighting Crypto Fraud
In 2024, the SEC continued to aggressively combat cryptocurrency fraud schemes. Among the most notable cases:
1. Charges against Xue Li and Brandy Chungu, who organized the HyperFund crypto Ponzi scheme that raised $1.7 billion from investors around the world.
2. A lawsuit against Cynthia and Eddie Petion, whose company NovaTech Ltd. caused losses to more than 200,000 investors amounting to $650 million in crypto assets.
3. Claims against individuals associated with the fake crypto trading platforms NanoBit and CoinW6.
The SEC has also completed several significant settlements. For example, Silvergate Capital was held liable for providing false information about monitoring cryptocurrency transactions, including interactions with FTX. In addition, charges were dropped against Barnbridge DAO, which was suspected of illegally selling structured crypto assets classified as securities.
In comparison, in 2023, the SEC initiated 784 lawsuits, imposing financial penalties in the amount of $4.9 billion. Despite the decrease in the number of cases in 2024, the amount of compensation and fines reached a record level, demonstrating the effectiveness of the regulator.
